The Daily Dose/Friday, March 15, 2019

Leading OffWhat is funny about the whole college bribery story is how people are getting worked up over it because let’s be honest, is any of this surprising? It shouldn’t be.

The rich are bribing their way into elite colleges and universities? Please. What would be surprising is if this hasn’t been going on since Harvard opened their doors in the 1630s. Nothing really changes in this world; the privileged, and everyone else for that matter, will do what it takes to look after themselves. It’s the way the world is built. If a silly law stands in their way, they will ignore that law and go about their business.

Should we be surprised college sports was involved? Of course not. American college sports has been a cesspool since Harvard and Yale first rowed against each other in 1852. Professionals and other ringers were used on both sides and the event was held not near either campus, but at a resort in New Hampshire whose owner was merely exploiting the event to drum up some business. Imagine that.

And something else: we don’t approve of the bribing of collegiate rowing coaches any more than you do, but who exactly is the victim here? Some scrappy, unwashed rower from the projects? All right, granted, some otherwise deserving kids probably missed out an opportunity but life is both tough and unfair. Get up, dust yourself off and go somewhere else. College, like every other aspect of this life, is what you make of it.

We should be surprised at none of this and we should remember these are only the ones who got caught; it is probably just the tip of the iceberg.

Today At TheSiteThe Diary of a Nobody: Sparrow and The Wife enjoy a much needed leisurely day off together and it’s Sunday Spaghetti Nite, even though it’s Thursday. Today’s Diary.

Recall a couple of weeks ago for Sunday Spaghetti Nite (SSN) I had cooked up some Italian sausage for the sauce however I wasn’t entirely pleased with it, so at the big grocery store in town I bought some sweet Italian sausage and boy, that turned out really good…I didn’t completely cut it up, either, and there were some nice big chunks in there and both The Wife and the cat said it was the best ever.

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Criminals, Courtesans, and Constables: Friends, my latest novel Criminals, Courtesans, and Constables is now available for $3.99, a price that goes up to $5.99 on the official release day of April 1.

On This DateIn 44 BC – Julius Caesar, dictator of the Roman Republic, is assassinated by assorted members of the Roman Senate at the Theater of Pompey. While Caesar was able to stave off the initial attack of a malcontent Casca, others soon joined in and Caesar was stabbed a total of 23 times. The autopsy report, the earliest in recorded history, said only one stab wound, which severed the aorta, would have been sufficient to cause death.

In 1991 – Sergei Bubka, then of the Soviet Union, later of the Ukraine, becomes the first person to pole vault 20 feet at an indoor meet in San Sebastian, Spain. In August, Bubka would become the first person to vault 20 feet outdoors. He would retire with a personal best of 20 feet, 2.1 inches and, dominating like few others in sports history, Bubka would break both the indoor and outdoor pole vault 35 times over the course of his career. The pole vault world record is now held Renaud Lavillenie of France, who vaulted 20 feet, 2.5 inches in 2014.

In 1975 – The Doobie Brothers are at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time with Black Water. The song would spend one week at #1 and had been released the previous year as the B side to the single Another Park, Another Sunday, which peaked at #32. The Doobie Brothers would hit #1 again in 1979 with What A Fool Believes.

QuotebookIf in the future we find ourselves with a lot of fourth-rate citizens, we have only ourselves to blame. Louis L’AmourEducation of a Wandering Man

Answer To The Last Trivia QuestionMichael Jordan holds the NBA playoff record for career scoring average at 33.4 points-per-game.

Today’s StumperHow many Top 10 hits did the Doobie Brothers have on Billboard’s Hot 100? – Answer next time!